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13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun
|part_length= |crew= |cartridge= 13.2 x 96 mm |caliber= 13.2 mm |action= gas |rate= 450 rounds/min (cyclic) |velocity= 800 m/s (2,625 ft/s) |range= |max_range= |feed=30-round box magazine |sights= |breech= |recoil= |carriage= |elevation= |traverse= }} The 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun was a heavy machine gun designed and manufactured by Hotchkiss et Cie from the late 1920s until World War II when it saw service with various nation's forces, including Japan where the gun was built under licence.http://world.guns.ru/machine/fr/hotchkiss-m1930-e.html Development In the late 1920s, Hotchkiss proposed a range of anti-aircraft automatic weapons in the 13.2, 25 and 37 mm calibres. They were all based on the same type of gas-operated action. The 8 mm mle 1914 machine gun had proven extremely reliable during World War I and was still in service. Hotchkiss also advertised the 13.2 mm machine gun as an infantry weapon, that could be fitted on conventional tripods and be used against light armour. French infantry commanders, that had expressed interest in acquiring light anti-aircraft guns, refused the 13.2 mm. They argued that those heavy bullets falling down could be dangerous to friendly troops, and went to larger calibres where self-destructing shells were available. But the 13.2 mm Hotchkiss saw extensive use as a naval gun, and was also chosen by the French cavalry for some of its armoured vehicles. Service As a ground-based anti-aircraft weapon The French Air Force used a twin mounting on a tripod carriage, designated as mitrailleuse de 13,2 mm CA mle 1930, for close-range defence of its airfields and other strategic places. ]] As a naval weapon Early in World War II, the French and Japanese navies were using twin and quadruple mountings on many of their warships. French warships that were refitted in the USA in 1943, such as the battleship ''Richelieu'' or the destroyer ''Terrible'', had their 13.2 mm machine guns replaced by more efficient Oerlikon 20 mm cannons. The Spanish Navy bought this weapon in December 1935 and used it during the Civil War (where it was mounted in several Republican Navy destroyers and cruisers). The "Pirotecnia Militar" Army Ammunition plant (Sevilla) produced its cartridges after 1939. As a ground weapon The 13.2 mm Hotchkiss was used on the Belgian T15 (a combat vehicle) and the French AMR 35, light tanks as well as the AMD Laffly 80 AMhttp://www.warwheels.net/images/Laffly80AMdatasheet.pdfarmoured car and on fortifications. The Japanese mounted license-produced version of the gun on a number of Type 92 Heavy Armoured Cars which had initially been armed with only a pair of 6.5mm machine guns. Self-propelled mountings Several self-propelled anti-aircraft combinations were tested in the 1930s, with Citroën-Kegresse or Berliet chassis, but none was mass-manufactured. The Free French used field-modified self-propelled mountings, with guns recovered from French ships, in North-East Africa in 1942. Users * * * * * * References * Ferrard, Stéphane. France 1940 l'armement terrestre, ETAI, 1998, ISBN 978-2-7268-8380-8 * "Las armas de la guerra civil española", José MAría MANRIQUE, ISBN 84-9734-475-8, pages 394 -398 See also * Anti-aircraft * 25 mm Hotchkiss anti-aircraft gun, a closely related weapon Category:World War II anti-aircraft guns Category:World War II weapons of France Category:Machine guns of France Category:Heavy machine guns Category:World War II machine guns